My recollection is that "Surfin'" (the SIP album arrangement anyway) dropped off the setlist first, then "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (in 1993 I believe), with "Boardwalk" and "SIP" staying longer, with "Boardwalk" eventually dropping as well (I believe in 1995). SIP is the only track that survived more than a few years/touring seasons.

It seems the SIP songs stayed in the setlists much longer than the songs from SC, BB85, KTSA, or LA. Getcha Back being the exception - they performed it up through 1987; it was gone in 1988. California Dreamin' was still in the setlist in '87; also dropped in 88. But they did replace those with some good ones - This Whole World comes to mind.

I think the SIP sings mostly had a normal "new album" life span in the setlist. Two songs survived past 1993, and one song survived past 1995.

On "LA", "Good Timin'" was in the setlist through 1979 and 1980 (and perhaps early '81 gigs before Carl left), then was brought back into the setlist in 1982 when Carl returned, dropped by the end of that year. That was the only LA song that survived past 1979.

On KTSA, "School Days" stayed in the setlist through 1982; all the other KTSA songs dropped throughout 1980.

"California Dreamin" remained a fairly regular setlist inclusion pretty much throughout the 90s and in fact is still regularly played by Mike's band now (and was rotated in and out of the 2012 C50 setlist).

I think even "Still Crusin" had a similar setlist lifespan. The title track popped in and out over the years, while other stuff like "Somewhere Near Japan" and "Island Girl" were done sporadically through 1990 and then dropped.

Lady Lynda from LA lasted at least until 1980, right? It was played at Knebworth. Unless you're talking about regular touring setlists rather than special concerts. However, I think they performed it after that as well, although they changed it to "Little Lady" or "Lady Liberty" later on (there was a topic on the song and its different incarnations awhile back on here that I remember reading).

Haha, yes! Currently in Kyoto. I've been to more than a few stores that sell either records or CDs, and there has been plenty of Beach Boys representation. I've seen some crazy greatest hits compilations as well as plenty of studio albums. Multiple copies of Smiley Smile (CD) at Tower Records Kyoto-- that was cool! Of course, just lots of great music in general, and all in fantastic condition. They keep their belongings in great shape over here, yet used merchandise goes for much less than in America. The best possible scenario for me!

Brian mastered the Wall Of Sound, you've mastered the Wall Of Text  . I kid, great read!

Haha, yeah! It's certainly quite a handful of text. Thanks!

Going through all the albums again, I realized there's very few places where I can hear Bruce's voice in the harmony stack. The tags of "California Girls" and "God Only Knows", "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" (his voice doing the "baby" at the end), "Add Some Music to Your Day" (his solo), ...well, that's all I can think of, other than the songs he sings lead on. He really was the phantom Beach Boy.

Yeah, I get you. In addition to the songs you mentioned, I can hear him on the tag of "I'll Bet He's Nice," the super-high part of the "columnated ruins domino" part of "Surf's Up" (I think?), and some of the ultra-high parts of the countless "Heroes and Villains" sections (I remember "Mission Pak" being pointed out as Bruce at his highest). There are a couple I'm more than likely forgetting, but even with those songs added to the list, that's a really short list! I suppose the concerts were where it was at for him in the stack, at least up until 1972.

LB,

I've been enjoying reading your reviews.  It's always nice to get fresh takes on the music. 

If I could offer one piece of constructive criticism it would be.....

Spacing, especially between paragraphs or to separate individual songs. 

Just makes it easier to read.

 

Thank you!

Yeah, I realize the spacing is pretty ugly. I typed up all of these reviews in a word processor and copy-pasted them here. When I insert them into individual album review boards, I'll tidy up the spacing and make it all look much better. That'll have to wait until June, though, since my time is pretty taken up here in Japan! I do look forward to reading through everyone else's reviews, especially since I haven't read those boards in a few years.

Man alive, Sweet Insanity is fantastic! I suppose I'm not a big fan of "Power of Love," but other than that, I like every track on both mixes plus bonus tracks of the era! "Country Feelin'" really captures the hilarity of "Barnyard" at a faster pace with the rhythmic goat noises and other sound effects. That's definitely one of my favorite tracks from the project. I just started relistening to this stuff a few weeks ago, and I noticed how cool the instrumentation in "Someone To Love" is too. I'm pretty sure there's an oboe in there?

But yes, I love Sweet Insanity! It was the first thing I listened to in my car when I got my driver's license and could drive by myself, for whatever reason. I also recently listened to the entire Slightly American Music bootleg of Paley Sessions material, and that stuff equally blows my mind! As usual, The Beach Boys (together or separately) leave some of their best stuff in the vault.

Side note: I'm a huge fan of both "Smart Girls" and "Summer of Love." Those lyrics are straight cheese, and I get a huge kick out of singing them, showing them to other people, or imagining The Beach Boys singing them (which makes the "Summer of Love" music video that much better!!). I think they're catchy songs, too!

Brian mastered the Wall Of Sound, you've mastered the Wall Of Text  . I kid, great read!

Haha, yeah! It's certainly quite a handful of text. Thanks!

Going through all the albums again, I realized there's very few places where I can hear Bruce's voice in the harmony stack. The tags of "California Girls" and "God Only Knows", "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" (his voice doing the "baby" at the end), "Add Some Music to Your Day" (his solo), ...well, that's all I can think of, other than the songs he sings lead on. He really was the phantom Beach Boy.

Yeah, I get you. In addition to the songs you mentioned, I can hear him on the tag of "I'll Bet He's Nice," the super-high part of the "columnated ruins domino" part of "Surf's Up" (I think?), and some of the ultra-high parts of the countless "Heroes and Villains" sections (I remember "Mission Pak" being pointed out as Bruce at his highest). There are a couple I'm more than likely forgetting, but even with those songs added to the list, that's a really short list! I suppose the concerts were where it was at for him in the stack, at least up until 1972.

Man, where was Bruce? I missed him.

He's very high in the mix on parts of "Spring Vacation," I enjoy hearing him singing "wish that it could go on forever - long as we can, all stay together," but yes, no real lead.
Enjoyed your positive reviews again, like you I tend to enjoy just about everything to varying degrees.
I have been singing "Some of you love" and "kiss me baby" in my head just now though and I can't really see a similarity. I can certainly hear KMB in
"That's why God made the radio" however, which I had not noticed previously.

Oh, I didn't notice him on there! I'll have to take another listen with that in mind.

Thank you! It's just more fulfilling to like this stuff than not, I feel. Why hate certain aspects of the music just to hate it? As for "Some of Your Love," I was just referring to the fact that Carl actually sings the lyric "Kiss Me Baby" at one point. The melodies of the song remind me more of "It's A Beautiful Day," "Wontcha Come Out Tonight," and "Be True to Your School."

These reviews are great! They definitely capture a lot of my frustrations with the album in a funnier way than I could get them across. Excellent job!

Still Cruisin’

The other album I haven’t heard all the way through. I already know the old songs, “Kokomo,” and “Wipe Out,” but I don’t recall having heard anything else. We’ll see how it goes!
Still Cruisin’ – Mike’s vocal in the beginning was fine! He didn’t have to ruin it… Not that he ruined the song; it still sounds good. Carl and Al sound good, and I dig Mike’s “come on let’s cruise” backing vocal. I like the guitar sound they have too. Not too bad of a song, honestly.
Somewhere Near Japan – Some cool synthesizer noises, very much in that stereotypical Japanese vein (but they still sounds good). I need to read up on the history of this song again; was Mike aware of the drug innuendo of this song? If so, why did he let it slip by? Whatever. Carl, once again, sounds pretty darn good. Mike isn’t overdoing it too much, really. I think the song sounds good. The vocal modulations are interesting, and the guitar is quality. I love 12 string guitar. Al comes in hot with yet another good vocal. Wouldn’t it be something if Al delivered a *bad* vocal?
Island Girl – Another tropical-sounding song ala “Sunshine.” It’s okay. At least their vocals are good. Mike’s vocal sounds good! That steel drum solo sounds really interesting, and much unlike a lot of other steel drum I’ve heard for some reason. Now that the song is growing towards a close, it’s sort of grown on me. The vocal hooks are strong, and there’s a lot to dig into.
In My Car – This is not the song “Let’s Go To Heaven In My Car.” It’s has that “wall of Brians” element to his solo material, but with other Beach Boys sometimes singing! I like it a lot. The overly-heavy guitar is cheesy in a “Metal Beach” sort of way. Al’s lead almost dipped into the “Kona Coast” melody for a second there. This song has a lot of odd and interesting sounds in it, which I really respect about Brian’s first solo album. The lyrical content maybe isn’t the best, but I can appreciate it more than the rest of this album thus far. I guess I’m just partial to solo Brian, and this sounds like that.
Kokomo – This was the first Beach Boys song I ever bought along with “California Girls!” As such, it has a special place in my heart. I remember having a Muppet Babies VHS tape as a kid, and Kermit sang this on the beach. I still think of that when listening to this occasionally. Disregarding all of that, though, this song has a really great sound to it, and it’s really catchy. Carl’s part is fantastic! The whole song is a celebration of catchiness, and it deserved the success it got. Did other songs they made in the 60s and 70s deserve it more? Sure, but you should be glad The Beach Boys got another chance at the charts! I love this song, and I don’t care that so many people within the fanbase dislike it. It’s great stuff! “Give me a tropical contact eye…”
Wipe Out -- ……This song is funny. There sure is a lot of Brian on this track! I’m definitely not a fan of rap to any significant degree, but I like the humor of some of the 80s stuff (sure, that may not be what rap was originally intended for [talking about pertinent issues in discrimination and economic hardships, etc], but I’d rather hear fun stuff like this than mindless stuff pertaining to gloating about the excesses of wealthy and/or violent living). The Fat Boys are definitely funny. The backing vocals are good. The beatboxing part at the end is pretty cool too. Not a bad song.
Make It Big --  The drum sound was made big! I definitely didn’t expect Mike’s “why dontcha” bass part from “Wontcha Come Out Tonight” to make an appearance. The song isn’t too bad, but I guess I liked the other songs on the album more.
I’ve heard the last three songs plenty of times, and they’re great. Wouldn’t It Be Nice sounds weird and really muddy. I can hardly hear some of the background instruments.
This album wasn’t too bad, although the contrast between the first three fourths and the last fourth is crazy. I understand that Mike was trying to craft a movie song concept album, but I think they could’ve put some other 80s songs on there such as “California Dreamin’” and “Rock and Roll to the Rescue” to round it out. As it is, none of the songs offended.

Summer in Paradise

I’ve heard this through a few times, and I’ve listened to other songs individually more times. I have the USA version. Here goes:
Hot Fun in the Summertime – This isn’t so bad. The “baum baum baum baum diditt” backing vocals are nice, and I love Mike’s low bass “YEEEUH” stuff from this era. Mike’s voice isn’t so self-referential on this, either! Carl had developed a soulful quality to his natural singing voice at this point in the game. The modulation on the vocals is weird. This song wasn’t bad.
Surfin’ – Hmmm… an interesting choice for a cover. The instrumentation is comical for a song this simplistic. The singing is kind of melodramatic in parts, if that makes sense. Carl sounds good, but it’s just too much of a joke to be taken seriously. It’s also too long.
Summer of Love – “YEEEAAUH!!” I love this song. It’s hilarious! Every lyric is a laugh. The song is legitimately catchy too, but if people are drawn to the childish, borderline creepy lyrics of Love You, they should give this song another chance. It has a lot to offer. “GURLZ R ALWAYZ REDDY” It’s a love thing, everyone. The effects used in this song, record scratch and all, enhance the humor tenfold. I LOVE this song. I can’t believe I haven’t put it on a compilation yet.
Island Fever – I like the guitar. Honestly, I like this song in general. It sounds good. Mike’s slowly indoctrinating me into his nasally ways, and I don’t mind his voice in this song so much. This album is so obviously electronically produced, but I really don’t have much negative to say about that fact. There are some cool sounds on this song, and the vocals aren’t bad. I actually like this song a lot more than most of the songs on Still Cruisin’!
Still Surfin’ – Hm……. Maybe I spoke too soon for this album? Well, actually, the backing track is pretty cool… But ugh, these references… The schmaltz… Should I like what’s going on here? I like that shift to double-time (or whatever) sometimes. I dunno, I guess I like this song… Who’s doing that “Getcha Back” falsetto part in the background?
Slow Summer Dancin’ – Okay, drums, we know you’re there. Tone it down a bit, please. …Woah, hey Bruce! Long time no listen! And hey, Al’s here too! This song is inoffensive, and I like the “over and over again; one summer night” part. It’s nothing too special, but not bad. I like the ending bit.
Strange Things Happen – The backing track sounds interesting. This song isn’t too bad, to be honest. As of right now, this album isn’t turning out to be “litter-ull-lee the wurst album 3v3r!!!” like many fans say. The lead vocal trading is pretty cool here. The drumming is crazy-artificial, but they didn’t have a permanent drummer as part of the main lineup anymore, so I can permit that in my mind. There are some crazy effects going on in these songs if you listen carefully.
Remember “Walking in the Sand” – Haha, this song is crazy. “REE-MEM-BUH.” The icicle synthesizers in the background are cool. Imagine *yourself* walking in the sand, and Mike’s booming modulated voice appears echoing all around you. What would you do? Carl sings well. The organ part that shows up a couple of times is totally out of left field. This album is strange.
Lahaina Aloha – There goes that guitar, being all 1990s near-the-ocean-sounding. The accordion adds to that feeling too. I had to chuckle at the homogeneity of the drums; they sound so similar between the songs! Carl sings great again. How does he do it!? Mike sings well, too. Tit for tat, I think he sings better on this album than any since LA. Carl’s part in the chorus is catchy. A good song. A really good song!
Under the Boardwalk – Man, this album has its own brand of humor. The beginning is so primitive music programming technology, and then here come the best harmony singers of all time. They sing well here, for sure. Ha! That handclap. Classic. I like when they sing “under the boooardwalk” together. Another song that isn’t bad. I think this album had Mike’s best bass vocal work, honestly.
Summer In Paradise – Well, I like the live version on MiC (and I think the UK version of the album?) a lot better. This version isn’t bad, though. Once again, I love the 12 string guitar. How could McGuinn be so not busy as to join The Beach Boys for the recording of this album? Crazy. If they were to have toned down the references a bit, I think the lyrics would’ve been pretty respectable. The hook on the chorus is pretty good. I wish Bruce sang lead here like the live version, though. Sigh… Maybe I’ll have to acquire the UK version sometime and give that a listen.
Forever – Ugh. Sitar, heavy guitar, John Stamos? Ugh. At least Carl still sounds good in his part. But come on. Maybe it can be taken as a joke. “Surfin’” is kind of a joke anyway. Yeah, okay. A joke song. Ha! What a clever ironic twist on the trend of remaking old songs with new people. Good one! …Honestly, it’s not the worst, but they didn’t need to put it on the album. It was just unnecessary.
Returning to “Summer of Love” so as to not spoil my opinion of the album too much, I didn’t mind this at all. I think it’s and interesting and frequently funny album. Definitely not the worst thing ever released (which is impossible to gauge anyway). I think, decades from now, when the people who were around for The Beach Boys’ actual history are all gone, this and other later albums will have a better chance of being looked upon favorably. I feel a lot of people view these albums in the context of ruining their legacy at the times of their releases, or being regressions compared to the albums around them. Taken as their own things, I haven’t found any album to be “bad.” Some I like more than others, nut they all have their enjoyable moments for sure.

That’s Why God Made the Radio

I haven’t listened to this very much. I remember enjoying a few songs, and of course I’ve listened to the title track and “Isn’t It Time” many times, but we’ll see how a fresh listen goes.\
Think About the Days – An interesting beginning to the album; very melancholy. Not bad. Kind of going for an “Our Prayer” approach, I suppose, but trying to capture the mood of growing old.
That’s Why God Made the Radio – Catchy. Once agin, there’s some “Kiss Me Baby” derivation going on with the chorus. Not “Some of Your Love” level, though, and I like the song. Jeff Foskett doesn’t sound like Brian, but I don’t mind too much. It’s interesting to hear The Beach Boys’ blend in 2012. They’re old! Al obviously sounds the best, but you can still pick out Mike and Brian. And Bruce is in there too, right?
Isn’t It Time – This is listed as “Isn’t It Me” on my Walkman for some reason. Hehe. Mike’s bass background vocal sounds kind of weird, sort of Rugrats-esque. Al sounds immaculate! It’s a catchy song with intriguing percussive elements. Jeff Foskett sure is prominent in the vocals. This song is so interesting.
Spring Vacation – “Good vibration!” …….Whatever, it’s not the worst song. The chorus’s melody, not the lyrics, is kind of lame to me. It just seems too generic to me. “Harmony boys are what we believe in.” The “hallelu-hu-hu-huoou-yuh” part is cool, and David plays some guitar, but I think the melody just isn’t up to snuff.
The Private Life of Bill and Sue – The lyrical concept is interesting and kind of funny. Once again, though, the chorus sounds generic. The “ba-dee-ah-dee-ah-dee-ah” backing vocals are cool, but I’ve heard that tempo and everything before. Not from The Beach Boys, I guess, but still. The song isn’t too bad, as the vocal performances are good. I like the barry sax too. Hmm, maybe the chorus is alright. It’s done well. Yeah, I guess the song isn’t that bad.
Shelter – I wish they would’ve used Matt Jardine. Jeff doesn’t do an inherently bad job; he isn’t a bad singer, but he just doesn’t really blend. Anyway, David’s guitar sounds pretty good. The song isn’t bad, I guess. Not mind-blowing.
Daybreak Over the Ocean – That intro was great! The percussion in Mike’s solo part is really strange; I like it! It sounds like they put a sample of a kid licking an ice cream cone in there. Innovative! Honestly, I like this song a heckuvalot more than the past few. The harmonies are great, and there are actual cool things going on in it! Mike does a good job singing the song too, I think. It’s a great song! It builds up well, has a variety of sounds, and contains excellent vocals.
Beaches in Mind – Hmm… You know, I was skeptical, but once again, there are some really interesting sounds going on in the background. The harmonies are good again, too. What in the world was that rattling harmonica sound at around one minute in? Crazy stuff! This and the previous song have been my favorites thus far, which is funny, since they’re probably the most “regressive.” There it is again, just before the two-minute mark! That weird sound, this time in the middle channel. Is it heavily modulated guitar? Whatever it is, cool!
Strange World – I’m not a fan of the particular piano style. Too Billy Joel-ish or whatever for me. The drum and “bum-bum” combo is pretty cool, though. Something about this song makes it seem like it belongs in a movie soundtrack, maybe to a Dreamworks movie. Is it the strings? The piano? The song isn’t bad. I don’t really like the pedal steel in this context. The song would work in a movie, I think.
From There to Back Again – Ooh, some woodwinds! And of course, Algonquin Q. Jardine! This is a pretty song. And some strings show up! Not bad, not bad. Goodbye Al, I appreciated your vocal. The transition to the tag sure is interesting. Not bad!
Pacific Coast Highway – Good stuff! The beginning bombast kind of reminded me of “Pacific Ocean Blue.” And shoot, it’s already over!
Summer’s Gone – This is pretty good too. I can appreciate the “looking back at the career / getting old / sunset” stuff going on with this album, and there are interesting sounds going on in this song anyway. It’s pretty, and done well. If this ends up being the end of The Beach Boys’ studio album discography, they could’ve done worse than this song.
Man, where was Bruce? I missed him. The album wasn’t bad, though. I think a lot of it would’ve been better if it hadn’t been produced by Joe Thomas, honestly. My least favorite songs on the album I think were Brian-centric ones. They just weren’t as interesting sound-wise, and didn’t have stellar, on-par Beach Boys harmonies. Maybe not, because the last three tracks were great, and the two singles were good too. And the first track. It wasn’t a bad album, it just had a

Here's round two of the album reviews. I made these on a flight from Chicago to Shanghai (which was then followed by a 15-hour layover and a flight to Tokyo), and while I was going strong for the duration of these reviews, I sadly became too groggy to review any solo albums, so those will come later. However, I had a lot of fun exploring the latter half of The Beach Boys' career. It was much better listening than I originally anticipated, and I've came away with a heightened appreciation for many songs.

L.A. (Light Album)

I have not yet heard this album all the way through. I bought it on vinyl back in 2014, but for one reason or another, I just never got around to listening to it. With 12+ hours at my disposal, though, now is the time!! I’ve liked what I’ve heard from it thus far, so hopefully that holds up!
Good Timin’ – I’ve known this song for many years due to its inclusion on Sounds of Summer. It’s a very sugary song, but I think it’s catchy and sung well. There are a lot of “oooh”s and “aaaahs” on this one. I think I works! The falsetto hook is probably my favorite part of the song.
Lady Lynda – I got into this song after reading the thread created on it a few months ago. This song is fantastic! I think it’s Al’s finest moment as a song crafter. I don’t care if it partially relies on Bach (which is a cool incorporation in my book), it’s still a fantastic tune. The sounds coalesce together wonderfully, from the harpsichords to the gently strummed guitar to the heavenly backing vocals to the strings to the bells and everything else. Al’s lead is fantastic. The beat is super, super catchy in a disco-ish way. This should’ve been a hit in America too! Listen to that acapella section!
Full Sail – The first song I’m hearing for the first time (or, if I’ve heard it long ago on YouTube, I’ve forgotten). The song is kind of quiet for listening on an airplane. The strings are nice, as are the vocals (backing and otherwise). I really, really like the bell-ish synthesizer in the left channel. Not a bad song; it just kind of drifts along (like the name implies?).
Angel Come Home – I’ve heard this one many a time from MiC; I love it! It’s an extension of Pacific Ocean Blue with Beach Boys involvement. Dennis’s vocal is great and passionate, and the ambiance of the track is lends itself to the lyrical concepts. I like the backing vocals too (the particular intonation of their voices when they sing “ANGEL”…“COME HOME” is strangely catchy). And the “comacomacoma”s, too. Great stuff. A totally solid track!
Love Surrounds Me – I’ve never heard this before. Dennis really gave this album some solid tracks! The squelching synths are a highlight for me, of course. They sort of remind me of Wish You Were Here (by Pink Floyd). Anyway, it’s a quiet song, so I can’t hear the details as much as I’d want to currently. From everything that I can hear, though, the song is really good! The groove is just right, and I haven’t heard a vocal that I didn’t like. The slide guitar is a really interesting inclusion.
Sumahama – Interesting, since I’m currently en route to Japan (this being my third trip over there). As an aside, I haven’t seen much Japanese music from really any decade mentioned here. It’s too bad, since there’s a lot of quality stuff out there. Anyway, hearing Mike’s voice after so much of everyone else was a little jarring. It’s not bad, though; I like the various sounds of the backing track, the backing vocals, and Mike’s lead. Another aside: “Beach” in Japanese is “sunahama,” not “sumahama” as far as I know. A mistranslation, or more likely an alternate pronunciation or something. Mike doesn’t do that bad of a job with the Japanese pronunciation compared to the average American! I commend Mike for the cultural exploration, and I’d say this track is better than “Belles of Paris” (maybe just my own language bias, but I like the backing track better too).
Here Comes the Night – I tried listening to this once a few years ago only knowing what I had read here and the Wikipedia page, and I shut it off after a few minutes. Too much negative prejudice going in, I suppose. Never a good thing, in my book. Listening to it now, it has a lot of really cool sounds. It honestly sounds like the stuff Yellow Magic Orchestra was putting out around the same time (their 1979 album Solid State Survivor in particular). I wonder if Bruce or any of the other Beach Boys knew of their existence? But yeah, I think this is a pretty cool track. If they had released it a couple years earlier, in the height of disco popularity, I think it would’ve done a lot better. I think it grooves pretty well. I personally think the original 1967 track grooved a lot harder, but this one is a synth oddity all its own. And what about that monkey screeching around 6:30?!? Crazy!! I have the 7” single, but I can’t remember if I’ve heard that (I got it for “Baby Blue”). To think The Beach Boys released a ten minute song on one of their albums (not counting the three different parts of “Califronia Saga”) is crazy! …Anyway, this is a cool track. It’s glimpsing into a universe where The Beach Boys ventured into new-wave-styled electronics beyond Love You and almost into techno rather than becoming a nostalgia act. I mean for real, why do people rip on this track?? It’s sweet!!!
Baby Blue – Such a lovely song. I’ve been listening to this since I got the Good Vibrations boxset a couple of years ago. It’s an absolute classic. I’ve put it on many of my CD-listening-in-the-car compilations. I love the Carl and Dennis combination. Every sound works in this track’s favor. I don’t quite understand the complaints about Bruce’s production; it may be slick, but I don’t think that detracts from the songs at all. Much like “Angel Come Home,” the ambiance of the instrumentation really sets the scene for the lyrics. The barren, lonely, longing feelings of the singer come across well. You can see how Dennis took the “Cuddle Up” emotional wave and progressed it into the late 70s with songs like this. He was a master in his own way.
Goin’ South – Another song I have not yet heard. Like “Full Sail,” it’s very laid-back. I don’t think laid-back means “boring;” this track does what it does well. The vocals are nice, and the instruments are done well. I’ll admit the song isn’t the most engaging thing in the world, and I personally have a difficult time with saxophones sometimes, but it’s not a bad song.
Shortenin’ Bread – What a really strange way to end the album! I definitely prefer the Adult/Child version by a country mile, but this one cooks in its own way. The syncopation of Dennis’s vocal wasn’t present in the other version, and I usually overlay that onto the original when I listen to it. If this was their way of interjecting some Brian onto the album, wouldn’t it have been funny if they had put “Drip Drop” on instead? It’s an equally jarring transition of energy/vibe, and it would’ve been funnier. But whatever; “Shortenin’ Bread” is sweet.
Well, I really enjoyed this album! I can see why certain fans rate it so highly. It has a slower overall feeling to it, but I don’t think it’s “boring” as some people claim it to be. The group nature of it is pretty nice too. I will definitely be listening to this when I’m not around the noise pollution of an airplane. It was a solid addition to their catalog, Brian participation or not. Should they have given up the opportunity to work on Pink Floyd’s The Wall for this? Heck no!! Is this still good anyway? Yes.

Keepin’ the Summer Alive

I’ve heard this before (although I only bought it within a year ago), and I wasn’t too impressed. I enjoyed some songs, but others seemed lame. I’ll see if/how a dedicated listen changes that.
Keepin’ the Summer Alive – For starters, I like this song. Sure, they reused the bass vocal of “Louie Louie” of all songs, but that “BAW BAW BAW” backing vocal is pretty cool. All of the vocals are done well, I think. The melody isn’t too bad, and the song keeps its rhythm going pretty well throughout. It’s interesting that Carl co-wrote this song, though; usually his songs had more substance. I guess it’s a summer concept record or whatever, and I certainly don’t mind the summer topic, but one can tell it’s a regression from their mid-period stuff (again, that doesn’t mean the song is any less quality).
Oh Darlin’ – I’ve listened to the Brian-sung version of this a lot. I really like the song! The instrument additions to this version are interesting. I like the accordion/horn/harmonica/rubber ducky or whatever; I think it really adds to the groove of the song. I like the rawness of Brian’s vocal more than Carl’s sweetness, but that doesn’t mean he sang it poorly. It’s a really good song, I think. This version definitely sounds much more finished, especially with the extra few verses filling in the gaps. I really love the way they say “da-ha-ha-harlin” and “fa-ha-ha-haund you;” it’s probably my favorite part of the song.
Some of Your Love – Holy recycling of riffs! I can’t keep track of all their own songs they’re ripping off! The “Kiss Me Baby” throwback goes over the line of cheesiness, but if it weren’t for that, I’d say this song was very enjoyable on its own merits. It has that nice low saxophone rhythm to it with plenty of great backing vocals. But come on, did they really need to reuse so much?
Livin’ With A Heartache – Not a bad song! That up-down-up-down piano is cool, and Carl’s vocal is really nice. The backing vocals are good. The guitar sounds are cool too. I suppose there’s nothing mind-blowing to say about this song, but I enjoy it enough. It is kind of long at four minutes, though.
School Days – I have Ten Years of Harmony and have listened to it a couple of times, but I don’t remember the differences between the single version of this song and the album version. It’s not bad, and I can always appreciate an Al vocal. The backing vocals are excellent and very diverse in sound (within the doo-wop  confines, I think). Again, not too bad!
Goin’ On – I like this song! I’ve been listening to it since the Good Vibrations boxset. The vocals are on par with many of their other greatest hits (and Brian finally makes a return!!!!!), and the melody is really great. The instrumentation and modulation, particularly in the fade, really works too. It’s just a solid track; definitely one of their best in the 80s.
Sunshine – Out of all the songs on this album, I have the least experience with this one. The horn section and percussion remind me of mambo. It’s not bad, and I like the perpetual backing vocals. Is Brian doing the falsetto in at least some of the parts? It kind of sounds like it. I guess I don’t have too much to say on it, but it’s really not bad.
When Girls Get Together – I wonder why they pulled this one out of the vaults out of everything they had… I like the song, for sure, and I have since I heard it on the various “Landlocked” boots. I like that Hawaiian-style guitar in the middle. The track has an interesting overall sound to it, and the concept of the song is kind of funny (especially for a band called “The Beach Boys”).
Santa Ana Winds – I like the version that appears with “Lookin’ Down the Coast” (I think on the California Feelin’ bootleg??). This version isn’t bad, and the spoken word intro isn’t the worst. I like the sound of the song, and I love Al’s voice. Mike totally slipped off the nasality deep end, though. He didn’t have to do that; his voice was still fine. Why? Was it the perceived expectations of the fans? It wasn’t necessary, whatever the case. It’s okay, though; I think the song is really good anyway. It has a nice harmonica, too.
Endless Harmony – This seemed like a short album. Maybe it was just the smaller tracklist and the lack of a 10+ minute disco single in the middle. I like the instrumental intro; it has a magical, childlike feeling to it. Once Bruce starts up, though, I think the song falls apart in a cheese crumble. It’s “Do You Remember?” all over again, but without even the groove of that song. Was the 1972 version this cheesy? And goodness gracious, when the “We sang ‘God bless America’” bit kicks in, you realize how much they’ve given up on lyrical integrity. Remember Carl objecting to the draft? The song “4th of July?” “The Trader?” Goodness, what a turnaround. At least the harmonies are nice in that section.
The last song kind of leads a poor taste in my mouth, but as a whole, the album isn’t as bad as many make it out to be. Obviously it’s a regression to their pre-Today! lyrical content, and the creativity/innovation is largely gone as well, but there are still some solid songs on here. I would still have to say that this is their lowest point up to 1980, though. Dennis was missed and will continue to be missed.

Wild Honey is an incredible album!  You've got some serious modern (for the times) instrumentation with organ, keys, guitar, percussion, etc. and some great soulful vocals.  However, with the lofi mono production and mix, I feel the Beach Boys missed an opportunity to be taken seriously and climb back on top after that Smiley Smile debacle.   

I can see where you're coming from with that. There are so many odd sounds going on in the not-so-distant background, such as the weird buzzing in "Country Air." Then again, Pet Sounds had its fair share of background noise/talking, although it was a whole different thing compared to Wild Honey.

Fair play on reviewing all the albums---quite an achievement to say the least! 

Hey, thanks! I finally arrived in Japan, so I'll be posting the reviews for the remaining albums that I crafted while on the plane.

That was a really interesting read! It's funny that he said he loves Pacific Ocean Blue. There's been some back and forth on that subject for quite some time! I like how someone asked if he'd be performing Smile, and he said they'd perform it the following spring, but when someone asked if he was teasing them about that, he said yes. I forget that chats like these have been around as long as they have. I've lived in a house with Internet my entire life, and it's cool to think Brian Wilson has been using it to his and the fans' benefit for nearly as long.

I want a 20 minute ding dang encore jam!

I really hope Bruce Johnston isn't reading this, he would turn the idea into a 12" Disco single  

M&B need to do the full HCTN disco song!

Honestly, if they did either of those things, they would be crazy additions to their live set! I think it'd be hilarious for them to break something like that out. What if there were to be some sort of crazed disco revival next year for the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever? Mike and Bruce could whip out some disco no problem.

I want him to teach Al the vocal line for Do You Like Worms we heard on the Smile box with all the lyrics (Having returned / Once upon / Waving etc.) and do Heroes with Great Shape and Barnyard. Actually, a final Smile tour with Al and the songs presented as separate tracks would be great. As it is, I'm seriously looking forward to Colston Hall in just over a week.

I think that would be a fantastic idea! Al's a fantastic vocalist, and to use him on something like that would be so cool. Even if they did a Spotify session of the album with the live band in the manner you suggest, that would be cool for the archives. The fan mixers would go crazy with the new Al lead. Maybe, if someone had the money, they could just contract Al to sing those lines for them? His voice is still similar enough to the 60s that it wouldn't feel out of place couched in the original backing tracks.

Given Al & Matt are hangin' with B-Dub, maybe they should do a "Love MIU" tour - with Matt doing a 40 years on sequel to Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree.

C'mon, the logical thing to follow up the PS tour is a SS/WH tour. Blondie's in the band, right? Who sings Wild Honey better than Blondie? Deborah Harry? I can't see much interest in a LY tour, half the BW fans love it, the rest hate it. How about a combo 15BO/BBLY tour? Maybe throw in a little MIU? I'm sure Mike and Bruce will tour SIP someday.

A late 70s song package would be sweet too, I agree. Breaking out songs like "Palisades Park," "Just Once in My Life," "Wontcha Come Out Tonight," and "Pitter Patter" would be alright in my book, and they could do them well. And, now that the cat has been let out of the bag to the public about how excellent their version of "Rock and Roll Music" was (or could've been), they could totally showcase that too. Maybe the band could start arguing onstage, leading into Al's famous "Phew! It's time for me to meditate."
I think a Smiley Smile and Wild Honey tour would be excellent too. Blondie, with or without Deborah (haha), does indeed do a fantastic rendition of the latter's titular song.

I want a 20 minute ding dang encore jam!

Interspersed with numerous "Let's Go, Mother F'ers!" 

Let's be real: A "Ding Dang Through The Years" tour simply must happen in 2017. They'll start off with "I'm the Pied Piper" and flow into "Ding Dang," "Rollin' Up To Heaven," "Shortnin Bread," "Drip Drop," "Shortnin Bread" again, "Too Much Sugar," probably "Shortnin Bread" again, "Proud Mary," and finish off with "Goin' Home." The more intimate venues could add such choice rarities as "Bells of Madness" and "Clangin." Each piece extended so as to make the performance fit a standard concert length. It'd give Jerry Lee Lewis's "Live at the Starr Club" a run for it's money!

I saw BW sing Surf's up twice last year and it brought me to tears. He can belt if he wants to! Al's take would be interesting as well.

You're very lucky to have seen that! I remember reading that he had broke it out just before I went and saw him last November, but he sadly didn't perform it at the venue I was at (it was a casino, so I can understand why not; different fan bases and all that). It's at the top of my wish list of songs I want to see him perform (though if we're being honest, a "Ding Dang" jam would probably be number two!!!).

I want a smile tour as well in the near future!

Me too, for sure! I do have a little apprehension after hearing that Brian doesn't like performing "Surf's Up" due to the complicated lyrics, although perhaps the lead could be handed to Al (who sings the tag lyrics anyway)? Now here's an interesting idea: If they were to only do a mini-set of Smile rather than the full album (for whatever reason), what songs do you think they'd bust out? I would assume they would stick to BWPS-type arrangements for songs that weren't first released by The Beach Boys ("Holidays," "Blue Hawaii," etc).

I dig “Love You”, but I don’t need to hear “Mona” or “Love is a Woman” live. If they tour next year, a mini set of “Love You” stuff would be cool. I don’t see them finding enough marketability in doing the entire “Love You” album for an entire tour. Maybe they could do like they did with PS in 2013 and spring the entire "Love You" album at one or a few random gigs or something.

Totally, that seems reasonable. Having the entirety of Love You *and* Smile and attempting to throw in some greatest hits would be a lengthy concert. I do quite like "Mona," though.

Also worth keeping in mind is that there has already been talk of booking more “Pet Sounds” shows into next year, covering markets that weren’t hit (e.g. most of non-UK Europe) and markets where they could have added additional dates but had no room left in the schedule.

I wasn't aware! I suppose it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the world to skip over them for this tour and then go ahead with another tour that they can't go to. Pet Sounds is a much more lucrative album to tour with, and they've bled beyond year anniversaries for anniversary celebrations anyway (such as the 90s Pet Sounds boxset), so that would make a lot of sense for them to do.

The one thing that makes a “Love You” tour surprisingly more likely than a “Sunflower” tour (or name some other fan favorite) is that “Love You” is very Brian-centric. Brian *rarely* does non-covers that he didn’t write or co-write. Even Al’s and Blondie’s songs are *usually* Brian-penned or co-penned (there are a few exceptions of course). So I would tend to doubt we’ll ever see Brian doing “Tears in the Morning” in concert, even with a backing guy singing it. “Love You” is perhaps the only post-Smile (or “Smiley Smile”) album Brian could do (outside of solo albums of course) that would be so Brian-centric.

You have a solid point. David breaking out "Little Bird" in 2013 was a pretty cool surprise, but even then, Brian had a hand in the track's creation (some say a very significant hand). Something I very well think could happen is a Mike and Bruce tour of Sunflower, or heavy integration of those songs into their setlist at least. Especially with the three Bruce-sung songs and the singers of their band being suited for basically all of those songs. It could happen!

I've said this before, but I'll say it again.  Imagine "Love You" performed or even re-recorded without all the dated synths.  Instead bring in Brian's band and a more complete production.  If I remember correctly, even Carl Wilson once remarked that the album was "unfinished" or something along those lines.

I think it'd be just as cool if they purposefully broke out the dated synth sounds for a performance. That being said, it would be interesting and probably more plausible to hear it with Brian's current band configuration. I wonder what instruments would take the parts of all the synths bouncing around in "I'll Bet He's Nice."

Yep, the Quadrophenia doc was done around the time The Who toured it again in 2012.  In recent years, I'd say that album rivals Tommy in popularity, and there have been more Quadrophenia than Tommy tracks in most of the Who Hit 50 setlists. 

Waters or Gilmour will never do AHM because it's not a cohesive project.  Basically, you have two long songs (the amazing title track and the time waster Alan's Pyschadelic Breakfast), and in the middle one track each from Roger, Rick, and David respectively.  Roger and David have performed their songs on solo tours (If and Fat Old Sun). 

Roger is very fond of The Final Cut, and except for The Wall tour, always did a song or two from it in concert. 

It's cool that Quadrophenia is getting recognition; it's a great album! I think I like Tommy a bit more, but it's very played out in the concert space.

It definitely isn't cohesive. That being said, I'm personally a huge fan of "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" (my three favorites are the title track, that, and "Summer of 68"). The concept is very funny to me, and the fact that it was recorded at Nick's house with a roadie delivering the monologue is cool to me. There's something about the way that Alan describes his breakfast journey and the way they edited it up (the multiple striking matches across the stereoscape, for example) that gets me. Plus the overall audacity of putting an avant-garde piece about breakfast on a *Pink Floyd* album in general; considering how the cow on the cover was supposed to be a counter statement to claims that they were space rock, I would extend that rebellion against their image to the track.  The musical accompaniment is nice, too. Then again, I still think "'Cassius' Love vs 'Sonny' Wilson" is funny after hearing it many times, so that speaks to how easily I can be satisfied by a track with humor elements.

I need to listen to The Final Cut sometime; I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I agree with the idea of a mini-Love You set as part of a larger set list:

Let Us Go On This Way
Roller Skating Child
Honkin' Down the Highway
The Night Was So Young
I'll Bet He's Nice

I like the looks of that list! However, of any time and place in his entire life (besides QVC, of course), a Love You tour would be the ultimate venue for a "Ding Dang" jam! Blondie or David or Al or whoever would be playing the guitar could be given a chance to shine, and the groove that the band can get in in general would be wonderfully showcased. Seeing as how he's reused "Ding Dang"/"Shortnin' Bread" so much over his career, he would definitely enjoy performing it.

I just purchased five lawn seats for their August 21st performance in Detroit for ***$6 apiece*** (although with fees upon fees, they came out to $17 apiece). I'll be loading up my car (sadly not a woodie) with friends and taking an hour and a half road trip to see them! If anyone else is in the Michigan area and happens to be bummed that the Meijer Gardens venue is sold out, $6 tickets on Ticketmaster are the ultimate steal! I would assume other ticket sites have quality deals as well, so I'm not trying to promote Ticketmaster; they just happened to be the site I purchased from.

I too sadly don't think this will happen. Then again, The Who toured Quadrophenia, Yes is touring selections from Tales From Topographic Oceans this year (along with another album I can't remember off the top of my head), and The Rolling Stones did that Sticky Fingers tour last year. None of those are the bands' most popular albums, so a Love You tour wouldn't be *impossible*, but Brian would probably tour albums like Sunflower, Friends, or some solo selections before Love You. As for a release, you never know! The Party set last year was kind of unexpected, at least to me. I don't think it was entirely due to that 50-year copyright thing, either, but more to do with the anniversary and it being a cool type of project to do.

Think about an ultra-limited edition of a late-70s Beach Boys box set with a hand-woven cross-stitched replica of the Love You album cover; 15 Big Ones, Group Therapy, Love You, New Album, Adult Child, MIU, and Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys LPs; CDs of backing tracks and vocals-only tracks; an entire "early mix" alternate 15 Big Ones; the lyrical versions of "We Gotta Groove" and "Short Skirts" and other Brother Rarities tracks; the debut of the apparently awful late-70s mix of "Child of Winter;" and who knows what else! What a treat that would be. Even if it only spanned 15 Big Ones to Love You, I'd be fine with it. They definitely have the material and manpower to do such a thing, and it's really only commercial viability in my mind that would limit such a project.

I think the difference between Love You and the albums you mentioned from The Who, Yes, and The Rolling Stones is that those LPs are still considered to be classics outside of those bands' circles of fans.  I just saw Quadrophenia listed in the top ten of a Top 100 albums of the 70s list in Classic Rock Magazine.   

Whereas Love You seems to be a cult favorite that divides even the most loyal BB/BW fans. 

It's kinda like Pink Floyd with The Final Cut.  The Final Cut is highly thought of by many Floyd / Roger Waters fans, but when Roger took Floyd albums on the road, he chose more universal crowd pleasers Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall.

Good point, good point. I have heard great praise about the albums, and now that I think about it, I remember seeing a Quadrophenia documentary on TV a few years back.
I'd personally love to see Atom Heart Mother performed live, but Waters and Gilmour dislike the album, and Waters had some things to say about the sheer never-going-to-happen-ness of touring that album. At least Brian likes Love You.

I disagree that those other albums are more likely...Brian loves Love You and his involvement in it was greater than those others you mentioned. I don't think it will happen though.

I will continue to pray for backing tracks however. It seems more reasonable.

Very true.  I can't quite imagine him feeling the need to do an album that Bruce has called his favourite as it was such a group effort.  Friends would be a bit more plausible.

Next year is also the anniversary of SMiLE.  If Brian is still touring maybe he'll do both or something along the 2002 Summer UK set lists where the first set was mini SMiLE and Love You!

I see where you're both coming from. I suppose I was going off of commercial viability, although Friends and Sunflower both did worse than Love You on the charts, so that line of thinking is flawed. I do remember Brian stating at one time Friends being his favorite of their albums, as well as Love You (and 15 Big Ones and a few others!!). Sunflower has not had such a mention to my recollection. The thought of a Smile and Love You co-billing in 2017 is super tantalizing. That would be such a showcase for Brian's eccentric side, and his band could make songs like "Let Us Go On This Way" and "Roller Skating Child" rock out fantastically! Just imagine Brian belting "Let Us Go On;" it'd be great!!

In a not-too-unrecent online Q&A session, Brian (or someone representing him!) said that a Love You tour is *not* out of the question.

Now that you mention that, I do remember that answer from Brian being discussed here. My hopes have significantly risen for some sort of Love You-related event. The louder we cheer for "Honkin' Down the Highway" at his concerts this year, the greater our message will be!

I too sadly don't think this will happen. Then again, The Who toured Quadrophenia, Yes is touring selections from Tales From Topographic Oceans this year (along with another album I can't remember off the top of my head), and The Rolling Stones did that Sticky Fingers tour last year. None of those are the bands' most popular albums, so a Love You tour wouldn't be *impossible*, but Brian would probably tour albums like Sunflower, Friends, or some solo selections before Love You. As for a release, you never know! The Party set last year was kind of unexpected, at least to me. I don't think it was entirely due to that 50-year copyright thing, either, but more to do with the anniversary and it being a cool type of project to do.

Think about an ultra-limited edition of a late-70s Beach Boys box set with a hand-woven cross-stitched replica of the Love You album cover; 15 Big Ones, Group Therapy, Love You, New Album, Adult Child, MIU, and Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys LPs; CDs of backing tracks and vocals-only tracks; an entire "early mix" alternate 15 Big Ones; the lyrical versions of "We Gotta Groove" and "Short Skirts" and other Brother Rarities tracks; the debut of the apparently awful late-70s mix of "Child of Winter;" and who knows what else! What a treat that would be. Even if it only spanned 15 Big Ones to Love You, I'd be fine with it. They definitely have the material and manpower to do such a thing, and it's really only commercial viability in my mind that would limit such a project.

Yeah, some of my favorite albums are rated poorly by critics. Pitchfork rated Wild Honey a 3.5/10, and cited "How She Boogalooed It" as one of the only redeeming songs!

f*** Pitchfork

Also, in response to your opening post, good to see another fan of SMiLE Wind Chimes! One of Brian's finest compositions for sure!

Haha, that's a good summation!

The whole song is just so amazing! The Carl verse section's percussion strikes such a mood with the unique vibes/marimba/xylophone beat and all of the subtle accompanying flourishes. The way the track strains when he tries not too look at his wind chimes is done so well. And BAM, the tag hits with such an immense force. I've never had a song give me an emotion besides happiness, sadness, or excitement (or occasionally make me laugh or appreciate its beauty). Wind Chimes pulls it off easily and repeatedly, though. The screaming clarinet (which I originally thought was a voice in the mix, but became much more apparent when I listened to the backing track) and the slightly dissonant vocals of the tag purvey anxiousness to my ears.
I've mulled over the message Brian was trying to relay to the listener with that song for awhile; I believe some people on the board have said it was about avoiding thinking about life's mortality (listening to the sounds of the wind chimes without actually looking at the chimes themselves). Or perhaps it's a general statement on the difficulties of furthering an understanding of something or someone beyond a surface level. Even if he was simply making an ode to the lovely sound of the wind chime, it's still a fantastically-executed track!

"Boogalooed" is easily my least favorite track on Wild Honey; "Aren't You Glad" is one I could listen to endlessly. And who ever sang wordless lyrics better than the Beach Boys? "Little Pad", "With Me Tonight", "Country Air", "Our Prayer". Sam Phillips once said "music is the closest thing to heaven on earth", and that's what those songs sound like to my ears.

Mine too, although I still like the groove it has, the organ solo, and that cool handclap sound they crafted for it (with every fourth clap sounding different to the preceding three). It's a funny little song. It doesn't quite match the quality of the rest of the songs on the album, though. "Aren't You Glad," on the other hand, whoa nelly. THAT'S a track. It's very lo-fidelity, yet has some nice understated horns. Everyone singing on the song does a fantastic job, and the piano/buzzing-organ combo sounds great. And, par for the course of the album, the bass is great too. And as I stated in my review, the drums do a fantastic job of backing up the friendliness of the lyrics (however much sense that makes). What a great song!
The Beach Boys made wordless vocals into their own language, whether with their countless doo-wop expressions or the "aaaa"s, "oooooooo"s, and "mmmmmmm"s of the songs you mentioned (and many, many more). I can't imagine anyone but The Beach Boys pulling off most of those sounds. Sam Phillips hit the nail on the head with that statement.

I just ended up throwing on Wild Honey again because of this; what an album!! I love it.

Smiley Smile acapella would be amazing! And as I get older, I pay less and less attention to critics. There are even a few songs on Summer in Paradise I like. It's not totally without merit, even if the production is awful and the songs are weak - it does have Carl and Al singing on them.

I think so too! The singing on the album is just as amazing as Warmth of the Sun, In My Room, Our Prayer, etc in its own style. The humming on "Little Pad," for example, or the entirety of "With Me Tonight." They were able to do a stereo release of the album, so I'd think acapella wouldn't be too out of the question. The Unsurpassed Masters sessions for Smiley Smile have a wealth of sweet alternate takes too, and one can imagine there's more in the vaults than that stuff that we haven't heard yet (or maybe not, who knows).

Yeah, some of my favorite albums are rated poorly by critics. Pitchfork rated Wild Honey a 3.5/10, and cited "How She Boogalooed It" as one of the only redeeming songs! I don't think it's a bad song, but what a crazy claim to make, particularly when dismissing the rest of the album. As for Summer In Paradise, I haven't listened to that one in a few years. I do enjoy listening to "Summer of Love," regardless of the sheer quantity of cheese, self reference, and sleaze it's covered in. I frequently mimic Mike's "YEEAAAUH," and it's just kind of a catchy song anyway. There were a few other songs I remember enjoying; I look forward to hearing the album again in a few days. The more Carl and Al vocals (and Bruce, and Mike when he's not a pastiche of himself) the better.

I had very low expectations for the late 60's albums when I started buying them in the 80's, because of writers like David Leaf. They wrote about them like everything was a disappointment after Pet Sounds. I don't hear them that way at all. I like the stripped down sound. I still think David Leaf's Beach Boys book is one of the best, but he really wasn't interested in anyone except Brian. He took that bias into his comments about the albums. Okay, tonight it's going to be Friends and 20/20.
I haven't heard much of the Hawaii stuff. Won't surprise me if we get a proper release for that stuff in the near future.

I didn't realize that his book pushed that opinion as well (I haven't read it, but I plan to at some point). I was aware of his liner notes for Smiley Smile, though, which wasn't the coolest of moves to make. I thankfully got into Friends - Surf's Up before even Pet Sounds, but I was turned off of their 72 stuff and beyond due to the review sites such as Allmusic, Metacritic, et cetera. It took me longer than it should have to truly appreciate their later work such as 15 Big Ones. And songs that I originally enjoyed on Sounds of Summer, such as "Getcha Back," I was told to enjoy less because they came out of a certain era. It was really easy for at least me to fall victim to stereotyping certain albums, eras, or decades as objectively worse than others. All Beach Boys albums have merit to some degree, and I'm glad I cast aside that way of thinking, because I like the band that much for it. I can respect fans' opinions of things, but I feel they would enjoy the discography that much more if they set aside their prejudice and listened with a new perspective. I'm glad you were able to take in the late 60s albums and enjoy them despite popular criticisms. I hope you find Friends and 20/20 to be quite enjoyable as well.
Ah, okay. I think that whole project is a cool re-visitation of the early songs with a Smiley Smile spin (with some new numbers thrown in, too). I would buy a release of that stuff in supreme quality such as featured on MiC, even if were to be a digital-only release! Of course, I would prefer a super-cool deluxe set mixed with a multiple-disc Smiley Smile and Wild Honey a capella, instrumental, and bonus track package, and maybe a lei thrown in for good measure, but whatever is fine.

You know, thinking about it, The Beach Boys may have had more Top 20 hits in Britian with Al leads than any other vocalist of the band. Is this true?

I think they had more with Carl. If you accept them to be equal co-lead vocalists on "Break Away".

Carl: God Only Knows, Good Vibrations, Darlin', I Can Hear Music, Break Away (and Good Vibrations reissue if that counts.)
Al: Then I Kissed Her, Break Away, Cotton Fields, Lady Lynda.

Thank you for that! I probably should have done the research myself when I was typing it out, but I guess I left stuff like that in for others' fun (or realistically, my own laziness). That stack of hits seems like such a contrast to the US's perception of "The Beach Boys sound," which is usually Mike or Brian. Al and Carl have excellent leads, and I'm glad at least the British record buying populace appreciated them. Then again, Carl had some quality leads make it big over here too, so maybe I'm largely speaking for Al. Anyway, it's an interesting breakdown, and I wonder what some of the other countries that aren't listed on Wikipedia's charts on the discography page had as hits (Japan, Brazil, etc).

Sounds like a good plan, seeing both bands.  That way, you get a really nice variety of different songs, and will get to see at least five Beach Boys (maybe six since David Marks sometimes plays with Mike & Bruce in the summer).

That's what I'm thinking! I haven't seem Mike and Bruce in four years compared to seeing Brian and Al last November, so that'll be an especially welcome show. It would be sweet if Dave joined them! Of course, I can't wait to see Pet Sounds performed either! This'll also be my first time seeing Blondie live, and from all accounts, he does a fantastic job.

LBNL,

Welcome aboard.  I like seeing new young fans like you and the Cincinnati Kid on board here.   

I'm glad to see that people born in the 1990s are discovering the music of The Beach Boys. 

Thank you! I suppose my more or less self-introduction to them would be considered an outlier among people of approximately my age, as I think most kids get the appreciation from hearing oldies stations played by their parents or grandparents. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, and having a base familiarity with their sound from occasional radio appearances was crucial to my later fandom, but when this generation becomes old, how will the oldies still be broadcast? It's an interesting dilemma. There's another chunk of people that are introduced to groups such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys through publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine and Pitchfork. I don't put much stock in those types of commercial music criticism organizations, but if they're able to turn on younger people to quality music, then I suppose they're doing some good. I know a solid group of my peers are at least familiar with The Beach Boys in a peripheral sense, but there aren't very many that I've met who've listened to an entire non-greatest hits album through in its entirety (or really listen to many albums at all in their entirety). Pet Sounds is the most common listen if any, which is cool, and I always try to direct them to other solid albums such as Sunflower, Today!, and Smile if I get the chance. I actually turned one of my friends on to The Beach Boys by playing Love You in the car while he was riding in it. You never know who could end up being a fan of the band, and if more people were exposed to a larger portion of their catalog, I think places such as this would be a lot more populated.

I turned my wife into a pretty big Beach Boys fan when we were courting. 

I hope you get a chance to see Brian's band or Mike's band, or better yet, both.  Seeing the C50 band is really what got me to delve into the catalog. 

I hope for a similar outcome with a girlfriend/wife down the line!

After browsing the setlists from the Mike and Bruce tour thread, and having printed out the date months ago and stuck it on my wall, I think I'll be buying tickets to see Mike and Bruce on August 21st. I already have my ticket for Brian's September 30th performance, so I suppose I'll be seeing both bands this year! I really enjoyed the C50 performance that I saw, and it'd be cool to see them reunited again, but I suppose with both bands touring, it leaves more opportunity to hear the music performed live by original members (and fantastic backing bands). What an interesting time to be a Beach Boys fan!

LBNL,

Welcome aboard.  I like seeing new young fans like you and the Cincinnati Kid on board here.   

I'm glad to see that people born in the 1990s are discovering the music of The Beach Boys. 

Thank you! I suppose my more or less self-introduction to them would be considered an outlier among people of approximately my age, as I think most kids get the appreciation from hearing oldies stations played by their parents or grandparents. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, and having a base familiarity with their sound from occasional radio appearances was crucial to my later fandom, but when this generation becomes old, how will the oldies still be broadcast? It's an interesting dilemma. There's another chunk of people that are introduced to groups such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys through publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine and Pitchfork. I don't put much stock in those types of commercial music criticism organizations, but if they're able to turn on younger people to quality music, then I suppose they're doing some good. I know a solid group of my peers are at least familiar with The Beach Boys in a peripheral sense, but there aren't very many that I've met who've listened to an entire non-greatest hits album through in its entirety (or really listen to many albums at all in their entirety). Pet Sounds is the most common listen if any, which is cool, and I always try to direct them to other solid albums such as Sunflower, Today!, and Smile if I get the chance. I actually turned one of my friends on to The Beach Boys by playing Love You in the car while he was riding in it. You never know who could end up being a fan of the band, and if more people were exposed to a larger portion of their catalog, I think places such as this would be a lot more populated.